Narsai Michael David (June 26, 1936 – June 20, 2024) was an American chef, author, host of a radio show on food, and a winery owner in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. He was a former food writer, restaurant and market owner, and the owner of a catering company.

Biography

Narsai Michael David was born in

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

to Assyrian parents Michael Khanno David and Shulamith Sayad. He was raised in

Turlock Turlock is a city in Stanislaus County, California, United States. Its population was 72,740 at the 2020 United States census, making it the second-largest city in Stanislaus County after Modesto. History Founded on December 22, 1871, by pr ...

and graduated from Turlock High School. He attended the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, studying math and pre-med. During college he supported himself by working at Hy's Restaurant in Oakland. After college he owned a printing company for two years. In 1959, he took a job at the Potluck Restaurant in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

, eventually becoming a partner. He remained at the Potluck Restaurant until 1972. In 1970, he began a catering business. Among his first clients was Bill Graham, the legendary

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

rock impresario, for whom Narsai catered events for all major bands including

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

. David catered the backstage meals for the many bands who appeared, and stage and sound crews at the

California Jam California Jam (also known as Cal Jam) was a rock music festival co-headlined by Deep Purple and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, held at the Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California, on April 6, 1974. It was produced by ABC Entertainment, Sandy Fe ...

concert in 1974. He has since catered many special events, some for the

British royal family The British royal family comprises Charles III and other members of his family. There is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member, although the Royal Household has issued different lists outlining who is considere ...

on their visits to San Francisco. In 1972, he opened his restaurant, Narsai's, in the upscale community of

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

, on the northern tip of Berkeley. The restaurant was described by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' as having one of the finest wine cellars in the world. Narsai's Market was opened next door, from 1978 until 1985. Narsai's restaurant closed in 1986. On the shelves at Narsai's Market were many imported and gourmet products, several of which are still made exclusively for him using his own recipes and bearing his distinctive label. David owned one vineyard in the

Napa Valley Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Napa County, California. The area was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on February 27, 1981, after a 1978 petition submitted by the Napa Valley Vin ...

, ''Narsai David Estates,'' and produced his own

Cuvée ''Cuvée''Or Cuvee on some English-language labels. () is a French wine term that derives from ''cuve'', meaning vat or tank.J. Robinson (ed), ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'', Third Edition, p. 218, Oxford University Press 2006, winepros.com. ...

and

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebano ...

. In the 1980s until the 1990s, he had a food and cooking column in the

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

. He was the KCBS Food and Wine Editor; and has appeared on radio and television. David suffered declining health after a fall and died on June 20, 2024, at the age of 87.KCBS Radio Staff
Remembering KCBS Food and Wine editor Narsai David

KCBS (AM) KCBS (740 kHz) is an all-news AM radio station located in San Francisco, California. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. (formerly Entercom), which took over after its merger with CBS Radio. KCBS formerly shared its Battery Street studios with CB ...

, 6/21/2024

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:David, Narsai 1936 births 2024 deaths American people of Assyrian descent Berkeley Student Cooperative alumni Cuisine of the San Francisco Bay Area Writers from South Bend, Indiana People from the San Francisco Bay Area People from Turlock, California Chefs from San Francisco Chefs from Berkeley, California